Cannot perform system restore for XP

Em Xx

Em Xx

Em Xx

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12 Sep 2010
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153
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Melton Mowbray
Hey guys,

Need some help attempting to fix my Mum's laptop please.

It's just a very standard laptop on XP (ADVENT 6311 17" Dual Core Laptop 2GB 80GB) she is a technophobe and only uses it for basic internet searches but it's now bust and I'd like to try and fix it for her.

When I turn it on, it boots up and looks normal until we get to desktop home page where the graphics are huge and pixelated. I get a balloon stating that the resolution is set to low and that I can change it, which I've tried but it will not accept my options. I tried a few other bits and conducted plenty of Google searching but nothing has worked. I have tried to run AVG to check for viruses but I cannot run AVG (not even in safe mode) nor can I remove it as I get an error message which is preventing me from running/removing it. I did manage to carry out a malware check and found over 2,000 items which have now been removed.

As as final bit of hope, I attempted to carry out a system restore (to a previous date) both in safe mode and not in safe mode but I could not do this either as I keep getting an error message saying something like 'System Restore could not complete, you need to restart your computer first' which I proceed to do and try again but keep getting the same error message.

I have also ran as administration but still nothing.

I am usually able to fix minor computer things with Google's help but not this time :( does anyone know if there's anything else I can try?

I do not have an XP disk either as we bought the laptop on the Bay of E for a very small price around 6 months ago.

Any help is much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Emma
 
Possibly damaged graphics chip or graphics driver corrupted

Could also be the hard drive is damaged , without doing a disc check not sure
 
sounds like a driver issue.

have you stripped out the drivers and downloaded the latest ones from the AMD\Nvidia website?

is there any other issues apart from big icons etc because its using a small screen ress?
 
ED209 said:
sounds like a driver issue.

have you stripped out the drivers and downloaded the latest ones from the AMD\Nvidia website?

is there any other issues apart from big icons etc because its using a small screen ress?
Click to expand...

I haven't done that, not sure I'd know how but I can give it a go tonight. I assumed it'd be a virus because I can't perform simple tasks as mentioned in my post - I didn't think the drivers would have anything to do with AVG not running/not being able to do a system restore etc.

The icons were the only issue until I tried to do other things when I found out I couldn't do them either
 
You got to My Computer, right click C: partition for example, properties>>tools then click on check. If it asks you to schedule a scan for the next time you boot your computer, click yes and restart your PC.
 
open my computer

select your c drive

right click and goto properties

Click Tools tab

Click error checking

Tick both boxes and click ok

It then should tell you that you can only do this after a reboot , restart teh C and the disk check should start before windows loads
 
as others have suggested do a disk check as this will try and repair any HDD issues.

if it fixes the issue and it happens again then the HDD may need replacing.

can check the health of the drive as well by using HD tune. install and then run the program, once loaded click on the health tab along the top. will show any issues with the HDD in red\yellow
 
Sounds to me like there is still malware on there or the system files are still damaged from the malware. Maybe try using a rootkit scanner and then another malwarebytes scan.

The graphics driver sounds like it is one of the damaged files, so you will also need to re-download that. Maybe try using the Snappy Driver Installer tool in this thread:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18662490
 
Running a system restore will undo what your malware check removed.

If there was a virus or malware installed or as above still installed they could have tampered with windows settings and files. Run sfc/scannow from a command prompt. This will check and fix any corrupt system files.

To do this hit Windows key and R key together. In the run command type cmd and hit enter. In the command prompt type sfc/scannow and hit enter.
 
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